Blind



May 13, 1952 P. NONELL 2,596,714 BLIND Filed July 14, 1949 INVENTOR. JOSE P016 NONELL A TTORNEX Patented May 13, 1952 I BLIND Jos Puig Nonell, Habana, Cuba Application July 14, 1949, Serial No. 104,663

In Cuba April 30, 1949 1 Claim. (01. 160-133) l The present invention relates to improvements in window shades, blinds, drop curtains and the like, to be referred to collectively in the following as blinds.

An object of my invention is to provide a blindhaving the aesthetic appearance, ruggedness, and freedom of air circulation of the well known Venetian blind yet being of simpler, hence less expensive, construction and greater mechanical stability.

Another object of this invention is to provide a blind consisting, essentially, of overlapping strips of metal or other suitable material yet adapted to be rolled up in similar manner to the conventional pull-down window shade.

An allied object is to provide, in a blind of the character last described, means insuring proper spacing of the strips to facilitate air circulation while causing the strips to be relatively positioned in such manner as to prevent, substantially, the passage of light rays, rain water and so forth.

A further object is to provide a blind having some or all of the characteristics set forth above and being, at the same time, easily cleaned, washed and dusted without being susceptible, during use, to the accumulation of large amounts of dust and dirt.

The above and other Objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description of a now preferred embodiment, reference being had to the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective front view of a blind according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary front elevation, on a larger scale, of several strips forming part of the blind shown in Fig. 1; and

Fi 3 is a section, on a still on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawing, there is shown a blind according to the invention comprising a plurality of strips 1!, preferably constituted by flexible metal leaves, which overlap one another in such manner that the lower edge 2 of any strip (except, of course, the last)"overlies the upper edge 3 of the next lower strip. The two end strips, that is to say the uppermost and the lowermost strip, are secured in any suitable manner larger scale, taken to a pair of anchor members shown here as a rectangular bar 4 and a round rod 4", respectively. The ends of a plurality of tie members 5 (Which may be cords or flexible wires), passing through suitable guide means provided on the strips l in a manner described below, are secured to these anchor members as shownin Fig. 1.

As shown more clearly in Figs. 2;and13, each strip 1 is provided with a series of raised formations 6, alternately projecting from either side of the strip, which are in alignment with one another and form guide means for the tie member 5. These formations or lugs are preferably integral with the strip and follow one another without vertical spacing, so that an unbroken channel for the wire 5 is provided as best seen in Fig. 3.

The lowermost and the uppermost of the aforementioned lugs, projecting from opposite faces of a strip I, are of reduced length, these latter lugs having been indicated at 6' and 6", respectively. Adjacent lugs 6, 6" of overlapping strips, being also in overlapping relationship, between them enclose a substantially cylindrical space accommodating a bead or short tube 1 which is frictionally or otherwise secured to the cord or wire 5, thereby preventing any appreciable longitudinal displacement thereof with respect to the strips l. The beads 7, furthermore, serve to maintain the spacing between the overlapping edges 2, 3 of adjoining strips, thereby insuring freedom of air circulation as well as uniformity of positioning of the various strips.

The lugs 6, acting as guide means for the tie members 5, may be of any suitable form (e. g.

of angular rather than arcuate cross section) and their number may differ from that shown, although the provision of two long and one short lug oneach face of each strip, as in the embodiment illustrated, has been found convenient for strips of standard height. Likewise the number of parallel wires or cords 5 may vary with the width of the blind and need not be three as shown in Fig. 1.

With an arrangement according to the invention it is easy to roll up the blind, as by wrapping it about the rod 4" as illustrated at the bottom of Fig. 1. It will be understood that this rod may be provided with any suitable take-up means, not shown, such as the conventional escape mechanism provided on ordinary pull-down shades. The rod 4" may, of course, be positioned at the top of the blind rather than at the bottom thereof as shown.

The tie members 5 may be of metal, fibers etc.; likewise, the strips I may be of metal or any other suitable material, such as Wood or plastic composition; the beads I may also be made of any suitable material and need not be cylindrical but may be spherical, cube-shaped and so forth. The invention is, moreover, not limited to the precise embodiment shown but is, on the contrary, capable of various modifications and ada 3 tations intended to be included within the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

A blind comprising a plurality of superimposed strips, each of said strips being provided with a plurality of transverse gaps extending across the full width thereof, each of said gaps being bridged by a plurality of lugs alternately projecting from opposite sides of the respective strip, the gafis of all of said strips being aligned forming a plurality of channels, and flexible tie members positioned, respectively, in said channels, said tie members preventing relative disalignment of said strips, adjacent ones of said lugs, provided on adjacent strips, overlapping and forming a chamber between them, said tie members being provided with beads surrounding said tie members 4 and positioned each in a respective one 01 said chambers.

JOSE PUIG NONELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of .this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,254,705 Morse Sept. 2, 19,41 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 40,213 Germany Aug. 2, 1887 821,005 France Aug. 1'7, 193'? 

